Politics & Government
Wife's 'Acts' — Benign, Sublime or Malign — Caused Divorce, Jesse Jackson Jr.'s Lawyer Says
The ex-U.S. congressman's attorneys argue that these unidentified "acts" should keep the couple's divorce proceedings in Illinois.
CHICAGO, IL — Divorce lawyers for Jesse Jackson Jr. are accusing the former U.S. congressman's wife, Sandi, of committing "acts" in Illinois that prompted the couple's split and are the reason proceedings should be kept in the state, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. What those acts are, however, remains a mystery.
"I'm not alleging anything other than acts," Jackson Jr.'s attorney, Brendan Hammer, told the Sun-Times before a Wednesday court hearing at the Daley Center. "Those could be from the benign to the sublime to the malign, but they are what they are, and they'll be addressed in the hearing."
The unidentified "acts" by Sandi Jackson, a former Chicago alderwoman, allegedly occurred while the couple was facing a federal investigation on corruption charges, the report stated. Both served time in prison after cutting plea deals with the Justice Department; Jackson Jr. was released in March 2015 after serving 23 months of a 30-month sentence, and Sandi Jackson was released September of last year on her birthday, a month shy of serving her full year sentence.
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RELATED: Jackson Jr., Wife Sandi Headed to the Slammer
These "acts" are surfacing as part of an attempt by Jackson Jr.'s lawyers to keep the couple's divorce proceedings in Illinois, the Sun-Times reports. Currently, the case is being fought in multiple states and Washington, D.C., the report added.
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Jackson Jr.'s attorneys argue that because Sandi Jackson committed "certain acts" in Illinois and because Jackson Jr. has been a lifelong resident with an Illinois drivers license who votes in the state, the divorce case should stay within Illinois' jurisdiction, according to the report.
RELATED: U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Under Criminal Investigation for Campaign Spending
Jackson Jr. was a U.S. representative from 1995 until resigning in 2012 following treatment for bipolar disorder and depression and the beginning of his federal corruption probe. As alderwoman, Sandi Jackson represented the South Side's 7th Ward from 2007 until she stepped down in 2013, a month before making her plea deal with federal prosecutors.
Jesse Jackson Jr. and Sandi Jackson (photo via Jackson campaign)
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